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News about religious movements, cults, sects, world religions and related issues.Mon, 14 Nov 2016 15:07:30 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7http://www.religionnewsblog.com/http://www.religionnewsblog.com/graphics/rnblogosm.jpgReligionNewsBlog.com68219180Subscribe with My Yahoo!Subscribe with FeedlySubscribe with SubToMeSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with Bitty BrowserSubscribe with Daily RotationThis is an XML content feed. It is intended to be viewed in a newsreader or syndicated to another site.The attitudes of Western European states towards new religious movementshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~3/pe8uF4Zn6ks/36623
Mon, 07 Nov 2016 13:54:44 +0000http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=36623<img width="150" height="150" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016-11-07_14-37-28-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;" /><p><img width="223" height="137" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016-11-07_14-37-28-223x137.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" /></p>
<p><a href="http://english.religion.info/2016/11/05/research-a-brief-overview-of-the-attitudes-of-western-european-states-towards-new-religious-movements/">Research: a brief overview of the attitudes of Western European states towards new religious movements</a> is an interesting article by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois_Mayer">Jean-François Mayer</a>, founder and editor of <a href="http://english.religion.info/about/faq/">Relioscope</a> -- an independent website that provides 'news and analysis about religions in today's world.'</p>
<p>The article describes official responses to <a href="htttp://www.cultdefinition.com">cults</a> during the 1980s and 1990s. </p>
<p>Under the heading 'General Comments and Observations,' Mayer writes:</p>
<blockquote><p>If we summarize the current situation, beside a few centres receiving local or regional subsidies, three Western European countries — Austria, Belgium[75] and France — have established agencies or centres for monitoring NRMs; these institutions are the outcomes of state initiatives at the national level.[76] Despite the successive waves of concerns about “cults”, most European countries do not have state agencies dealing with cult-related issues. In some cases, this has not prevented targeted measures against a specific movement, as evidenced by the years of surveillance of Scientology by German security agencies.</p>
<p>State-sponsored institutions dealing with cults are supposed to be neutral observers — which was one of the reasons for their founding. What happens in reality is nuanced and should certainly not be over-simplified. In practice, representatives of some official or state-supported agencies are seen more often at conferences of people with shared anti-cult assumptions than at academic conferences attracting sociologists of religion and other scholars conducting fieldwork. This has not prevented some members of these agencies’ staff from gaining considerable knowledge through years of work. One should understand that from the start the very roots of such agencies made it difficult for them to be really “neutral” (whatever meaning is ascribed to this word), since they were supposed to help solve a social problem, to support people seen as victims and to deal with deviations. Social scientists studying NRMs usually work from a quite different starting point.<br />
<cite>- Source: Jean-François Mayer, <a href="http://english.religion.info/2016/11/05/research-a-brief-overview-of-the-attitudes-of-western-european-states-towards-new-religious-movements/">Research: a brief overview of the attitudes of Western European states towards new religious movements</a>, Religioscope, November 5, 2016</cite></p></blockquote>
<p>Mayer also notes that the situation has changed a bit over the past 15 years. </p>
<blockquote><p>Firstly, except for the deaths of hundreds of members of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God in Uganda in 2000 (unfortunately, when news of this kind comes from Africa, it does not have the same impact as similar events in the West would), there have been no further major, dramatic “cult tragedies”. With the exception of Scientology, which remains quite controversial, most NRMs that were at the top of the list from the 1970s to the 1990s have lost much visibility, and several well-known cult leaders have died: their movements now have a lower profile or have partly reformed themselves (with ISKCON being one of the most significant instances of such internal reforms). There are still tensions within families as a consequence of spiritual quests and reorientations, but they are less associated with clearly identifiable groups. The Western European environment has become more individualistic: the appeal of radical forms of communitarian life has declined, especially at a time when most young people are primarily concerned with getting a job and keeping it. Certainly, the repeated warnings about the dangers associated with recruitment into “cults” have made some people more cautious when encountering missionaries of various persuasions.</p>
<p>Most of all, Westerners no longer experience the same fears: we live in the post-9/11 environment. Islamic radicalism looks like a much more serious threat than do small religious movements. Security agencies invest more time in monitoring Salafi mosques or jihadist websites than the followers of Hindu gurus or Japanese new religions. Some religious groups still require attention, but they are no longer the same ones.<br />
<cite>- Source: Ibid</cite></p></blockquote>
<h2 id="dialogue">From 'Cult Wars' to Dialogue</h2>
<p>Indeed, much has changed from about the turn of the century. The so-called '<a href="https://blog.longreads.com/2013/09/28/caught-up-in-the-cult-wars-confessions-of-a-new/">cult wars</a>' have largely abated in favor of a more <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/135-icsa-cult-experts">constructive, communicative approach</a> in which people with various, often polarized viewpoints share knowledge and perspectives -- agreeing to disagree when and where necessary, but all the while learning from each other. </p>
<p>The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) -- formerly American Family Foundation -- describes this development in its statement, <a href="http://www.icsahome.com/aboutus/benefitsofdialogue">Dialogue and Cultic Studies: Why Dialogue Benefits the Cultic Studies Field</a>. </p>
<p>That said, to those people who <a href="http://www.cultexperts.org">help victims of cults regain their freedom</a> and deal with the aftermath of their involvment in such movements, the attitude of many religion academics still comes across as rather sympathetic toward what is euphemistically referred to as 'New Religious Movements.'[ref]New Religious Movement (NRM) or sometimes Alternative Religious Movement (ARM) are terms often used as 'neutral' descriptions of what others would refer to as 'cults' or 'sects'[/ref] </p>
<p>It is not just anti-cult activists who have <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c59.html">called out</a> certain academics for their <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c25.html">cozy and at times almost PR-like relationships with religious cults</a></p>
<p>On the other hand, such academics have also learned that the internet has made it a lot easier for interested observers to scrutinize -- and critique -- their work.</p>
<h2 id="deradicalization">Jihadism and Deradicalization</h2>
<p>Mayer continues his comments and obervations by saying that Jihadism is now seen by some anti-cult groups as another form of "cultic deviation." </p>
<blockquote><p>More recently, as we see young Muslims leaving Western cities to join Islamist groups in Middle East war zones, relatives or acquaintances of these young people have spontaneously explained that they had been brainwashed: this often seemed to them to be the only “rational” explanation for such radical departures. This has quite naturally been grafted onto a “cult brainwashing” narrative. The metaphor of mind control offers an attractive model to explain various situations. Despite initial reluctance by some cult critics to venture into that field, we are seeing what to some extent looks like a new incarnation of the cult controversies around jihadism, with deradicalization becoming a new keyword (as well as a new industry).<br />
<cite>- Source: Ibid.</cite></p></blockquote>
<p>Clearly, many expressions of what is known in Islam as '<a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/6549-jihad-holy-war">lesser Jihad</a>' (holy warfare against the enemies of Allah and Islam) -- as opposed to 'greater Jihad' (the personal struggle against sin) are indeed cult-like in nature. The possibility that such recruits are victims of <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/5934-brainwashing-and-mind-control-in-religious-cults-and-elsewhere">Brainwashing and/or Mind Control</a> -- concepts certain religion academics crusade against with something very much akin to holy fervor -- should not be summarily dismissed.</p>
<p>That some cult experts see <a href="http://www.mcconnor-meade.com/uploads/20141124_-_The_Cult_Terror_Nexus.pdf">similarities</a> between the recruitment tactics of apocalyptic Islamist terror groups and those of other destructive cults is logical. The <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/7715-ideological-totalism">process of undue influence</a> is the familiar and follows a predictable tract.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly Mayer's comments include a nod toward the semantics problems that have plagued the 'New Religious Movements' debates: <a href="http://www.cultdefinition.com">How does one define terms like 'cult' or 'sect'</a>? According to him, shift from “cults” or “sectes” to “cultic deviations” does not really solve the problem because the term is "not as neutral as it claims to be."</p>
<blockquote><p>As James Lewis has observed, “the minority religions lose their chance for a fair hearing as soon as the label ‘cult’ is applied”.[94] The shift from “cults” or “sectes” to “cultic deviations” has been an attempt to resolve the dilemma and deal with the tricky issues presented by such a vocabulary without a clear legal basis when it is being used by supposedly “neutral” states. It fits the model according to which only questionable behaviour is targeted, but it fails to really solve the problem. The talk is indeed not merely about deviations, but about sectaires, thus qualifying a very specific type of alleged deviations that most people associate with a specific type of group. It is therefore not as neutral as it claims to be. Moreover, this shift has contributed to wider applications of the label “cultic deviations” to a variety of groups and individuals.[95] The cult controversies of the past decades have thus even led to the modification and possibly the extension of the meaning of words such as “secte” or “cult”. </p></blockquote>
<p>In the end, the overview is of interest to those who are familiar with the issues discussed. </p>
<p>Mayer's comments provide some insight into current thinking about the topic from a perspective that seems more worried about the impact of activists on 'New Religious Movements' than about the damage cults, sects, or other groups that engage in cultic deviations have on victims.</p>
<p>Full story: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36623/36623">The attitudes of Western European states towards new religious movements</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~4/pe8uF4Zn6ks" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>36623http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36623/36623Does the UK’s anti-radicalisation program alienate Muslims?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~3/E7xAmk-YQ58/does-anti-radicalisation-program-alienate-muslims
Fri, 06 May 2016 07:09:03 +0000http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=36545<img width="150" height="150" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/internationalnewspapers.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;" /><p><img width="137" height="137" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/internationalnewspapers.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" /></p>
<p><i class="fa fa-list" aria-hidden="true" style="color:blue;"></i> Today's edition includes stories about <i class="fa fa-check" style="color:#009919;"></i> a <a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/does-anti-radicalisation-program-alienate-muslims#prevent">radicalisation prevention program</a> that may backfire. <i class="fa fa-check" style="color:#009919;"></i> A <a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/does-anti-radicalisation-program-alienate-muslims#marcgafni">protest against Whole Foods</a> over its link to Marc Gafni. <i class="fa fa-check" style="color:#009919;"></i> Iglesia ni Cristo, a powerful cult of Christianity, <a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/does-anti-radicalisation-program-alienate-muslims#inccult">endorses presidential candidates</a>. <i class="fa fa-check" style="color:#009919;"></i> Plus: <a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/does-anti-radicalisation-program-alienate-muslims#quicktakes">Religion and Cult News Quick Takes</a></p>
<p><i class="fa fa-plus" aria-hidden="true"></i> Additional items may be posted throughout the day.</p>
<h2 id="prevent"><i class="fa fa-check fa-lg" style="color:#009919;"></i> Does the UK's covert propaganda bid to stop people joining Isis alienate Muslims?</h2>
<p>The UK government has embarked on a series of clandestine propaganda campaigns intended to bring about “attitudinal and behavioural change” among young British Muslims as part of a counter-radicalisation programme, the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/may/02/uk-government-covert-propaganda-stop-muslims-joining-isis">Guardian reports</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p>However, the methods of the <a href="https://www.counterextremism.org/resources/details/id/413/research-information-and-communications-unit-ricu">Research, Information and Communications Unit (Ricu)</a>, which often conceal the government’s role, will dismay some Muslims and may undermine confidence in the Prevent counter-radicalisation programme, which already faces widespread criticism.</p></blockquote>
<p>The paper sees it as a "sign of mounting anxiety across Whitehall over the persuasiveness of Islamic State’s online propaganda," but notes that critics say it risks alienating UK Muslims.</p>
<p>The article says that "[m]uch of Ricu’s work is outsourced to a London communications company, Breakthrough Media Network."</p>
<blockquote><p>[Breakthrough Media Network's] relationship with Ricu helps them get their own messages to a wider audience, and that they retain editorial control over counter-radicalisation communications.</p>
<p>However, a series of Ricu and Breakthrough documents seen by the Guardian show that Ricu privately says it is the one retaining editorial control, including over the products produced as part of these partnerships.</p></blockquote>
<p><i class="fa fa-link" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/02/inside-ricu-the-shadowy-propaganda-unit-inspired-by-the-cold-war">Inside Ricu, the shadowy propaganda unit inspired by the cold war</a>: The Guardian unravels the secretive workings behind a campaign to stop UK Muslims from falling prey to Islamic State -- The Guardian, May 2, 2016</p>
<p><i class="fa fa-link" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/feb/03/prevent-strategy-sowing-mistrust-fear-muslim-communities">Prevent strategy 'sowing mistrust and fear in Muslim communities'</a>: UK’s terror watchdog urges review of government’s anti-radicalisation scheme, saying it is significant source of grievance -- The Guardian, Feb. 3, 2016</p>
<p><i class="fa fa-link" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/sep/23/prevent-counter-terrorism-strategy-schools-demonising-muslim-children">'You worry they could take your kids': is the Prevent strategy demonising Muslim schoolchildren?</a>: Teachers now have a statutory duty to spot signs of ‘non-violent extremism’, with children as young as three being referred for anti-radicalisation. Does the policy safeguard vulnerable pupils – or discriminate against Muslims? -- The Guardian, Sept. 23, 2015</p>
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<h2 id="marcgafni"><i class="fa fa-check fa-lg" style="color:#009919;"></i> Abuse Groups to Protest at Whole Foods 365 Launch in LA over links to Marc Gafni</h2>
<p>National advocacy organizations for raising awareness of childhood sexual abuse issues are <a href="https://www.newswire.com/news/abuse-groups-to-protest-at-whole-foods-365-launch-in-la-10663936">backing a protest</a> at the inaugural opening of Whole Foods 365 store, May 25 in Los Angeles. Planning is underway for a coordinated protest at a Whole Foods store in New York City.</p>
<p>The protests are in response to Whole Foods co-founder and co-CEO John Mackey's link to spiritual leader and former rabbi Marc Gafni, as <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/26/us/marc-gafni-center-for-integral-wisdom.html">reported by The New York Times</a> in December.</p>
<p>More than 100 rabbis have <a href="https://www.change.org/p/whole-foods-www-esalen-com-stop-marc-gafni-from-abusing-again">authored a petition</a> demanding that Whole Foods sever ties with Gafni.</p>
<p><i class="fa fa-link" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/196238/understanding-the-marc-gafni-story-part-ii">Understanding the Marc Gafni Story, Part II, Mark Oppenheimer</a> -- Tablet, Dec. 29, 2015. A follow-up to the New York Times story mentioned above.</p>
<p><i class="fa fa-link" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Gafni">Marc Gafni: Wikipedia</a></p>
<p><i class="fa fa-link" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-h-dinan/boycott-marc-gafnis-movie_b_9829656.html">Why You Should Boycott Marc Gafni’s Movie, “RiseUp”</a>, Huffington Post, May 3, 2016</p>
<p><i class="fa fa-link" aria-hidden="true"></i> Cult expert <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=@cultexpert%20gafni&src=typd">Steven Hassan keeps track</a> of the Marc Gafni story on Twitter.</p>
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<h2 id="inccult"><i class="fa fa-check fa-lg" style="color:#009919;"></i> Philippines: Powerful cult of Christianity endorses presidential candidates</h2>
<p>Iglesia ni Cristo, one of the largest and most powerful religious movements in the Third World, has officially endorsed Rodrigo Duterte for President and Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for Vice President in Monday’s national elections.</p>
<p>Members of the cultic movement vote en-bloc, falsely laiming that the Bible teaches the practice.</p>
<p><a href="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/783270/inc-backs-duterte-marcos">The Inquirer writes</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>INC announced its endorsement through a circular read during worship service by executive minister Eduardo Manalo, who called on the sect’s members to vote as one on Monday.</p>
<p>“This is based on the teachings in the Bible that were taught to us even before we were accepted as members of the Church of Christ. We have faith that it is God’s teaching that there shouldn’t be division among us, but that we should be one in thinking and one in judgment,” Manalo said in Filipino.</p>
<p>The INC head cited I Corinthians 1:10 and Romans 15:6 in claiming that the sect’s unity came “in the name of Jesus Christ, for the glory of God and for the sake of the church.”</p></blockquote>
<p><a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/2848-iglesia-ni-cristo">Theologically Iglesia ni Cristo is a cult of Christianity</a>, since the movement's teachings and practices fall outside the boundaries of the Christian faith. </p>
<p>Sociologically INC has <em>some </em>cult-like elements as well.</p>
<p><i class="fa fa-link" aria-hidden="true"></i> Recent scandals involving the Iglesia ni Cristo cast doubt on the practice of bloc voting. <a href="http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/130094-iglesia-ni-cristo-bloc-voting-scandals">Will INC members still obey their ministers on election day?</a> -- Rappler, May 1, 2016. </p>
<p><i class="fa fa-link" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/rich-media/116483-newsbreak-top-stories-2015-revolt-iglesia-ni-cristo">Revolt in the Iglesia ni Cristo</a>: Over 100 years old, no one ever imagined the INC was in the throes of dissension in 2015, with no less than members of the family entangled in a bitter quarrel -- Rappler, Dec. 23, 2015.</p>
<p><i class="fa fa-link" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="http://www.asianpacificpost.com/article/7479-pastor-flees-philippines-seek-refuge-canada.html">Former INC pastor flees Philippines to seek refuge in Canada</a> -- Asian Pacific Post, May 5, 2016</p>
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<h2 id="quicktakes"><i class="fa fa-check fa-lg" style="color:#009919;"></i> Religion and Cult News Quick Takes</h2>
<ul class="fa-ul" style="list-style-type: none;">
<li style="padding-bottom:8px;">
<i class="fa fa-link" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="https://aeon.co/opinions/junkie-jihadis-and-the-narcotic-ways-of-war"><strong>Junkie jihadis and the narcotic ways of war</strong></a><br />
'Reports of ISIS fighters, jihadist terrorists and insurgents fuelled by drugs on their murderous rampages have generated outrage and astonishment. Drugs and warfare have always gone hand in hand...'</li>
<li style="padding-bottom:8px;">
<i class="fa fa-link" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2016/05/amish_beard-cutting_conviction.html"><strong>Amish beard-cutting convictions upheld by federal appeals court</strong></a><br />
<a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/category/bergholz-clan">Read more about this beard-cutting cult</a></li>
<li style="padding-bottom:8px;">
<i class="fa fa-link" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/3063751/scientologys-attempts-to-protect-miscavige-and-cruise-against-tell-all-book-backfires/"><strong>Scientology’s Attempts To Protect Tom Cruise & David Miscavige Against Tell-All Book Backfire</strong></a><br />
Wonder what has the destructive cult so worried? <a href="http://j.mp/RuthlessMiscavige" rel="nofollow">Read the book</a>.</li>
<li style="padding-bottom:8px;"><i class="fa fa-link" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="http://www.rubincenter.org/2016/04/black-banner-at-the-gates-of-europe/"><strong>ISIS banners at the gates of Europe</strong></a><br />
"[T]he Islamic State – in sovereign form, not merely as an idea – is now separated by only a relatively narrow stretch of water from the southern tip of Europe. [...] From a European point of view, the nightmare scenario is not only the flow of migrants itself, nor the chance of IS attacks from the sea. Rather, the combination of the two – the prospect whereby IS will seek to infiltrate fighters and organizers into the continent by way of the flow of migrants is what keeps European security officials awake at night."</li>
<li style="padding-bottom:8px;"><i class="fa fa-link" aria-hidden="true"></i> <a href="http://www.getreligion.org/getreligion/2016/5/5/are-polygamous-mormons-part-of-the-western-narrative-high-country-news-thinks-so"><strong>Are polygamous Mormons part of Western narrative? The High Country News thinks so</strong></a><br />
GetReligion, a blog that examines and critiques the way the media covers religion news, takes a look at how and why an environmental journal based in western Colorado covers a polygamous sect. The journal rarely reports on anything to do with religion, but it does address the <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/f/f39.html">Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints</a> (FLDS). The FLDS, one of <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/123-polygamous-sects-of-the-mormon-church">many offshoots of the Mormon Church</a>, has been in the news due to the crimes committed by its leader, <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/4568-warren-jeffs">Warren Jeffs</a>, and others in the cult.[ref]Theologically the <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/m04.html">Mormon Church</a> and its offshoots are considered <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/2765-cult-of-christianity">cults of Christianity</a>[/ref]
</li>
</ul>
<div class="linefade"></div>
<p>Full story: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36545/does-anti-radicalisation-program-alienate-muslims">Does the UK&#8217;s anti-radicalisation program alienate Muslims?</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~4/E7xAmk-YQ58" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>36545http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36545/does-anti-radicalisation-program-alienate-muslimsNobody joins a cult, but it is easy to get radicalizedhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~3/4HIfeMPcS7A/how-people-get-radicalized
Sat, 28 Nov 2015 17:16:27 +0000http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=36444<img width="150" height="150" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/iwasnotmyself-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="how people get radicalized" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;" srcset="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/iwasnotmyself-150x150.jpg 150w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/iwasnotmyself.jpg 230w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /><p><img width="223" height="137" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/iwasnotmyself-223x137.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="how people get radicalized" /></p>
<p><i class="fa fa-list-ul fa-lg" style="color:#3f66b2;"></i> Today's edition contains stories about the <a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36444/how-people-get-radicalized#palmarian">Palmarian Catholic Church</a>, how easily <a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36444/how-people-get-radicalized#radicalised">people get radicalised</a>, and what <a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36444/how-people-get-radicalized#isstrategy">IS jihadists</a> have in mind for Europe's cities. Also: tongue-in-cheek, How do Operating Thetans <a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36444/how-people-get-radicalized#thetans">get in touch</a> with eachother? And is <a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36444/how-people-get-radicalized#crossfit">Crossfit</a> a religion? Finally: Religion News Blog's <a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36444/how-people-get-radicalized#rnb">new design</a>.</p>
<h2 id="palmarian"><i class="fa fa-check fa-lg" style="color:#009919;"></i> Religious cult took our sister from us, says family</h2>
<p>The Palmarian Catholic Church, a secretive Spanish cult is <a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/religious-cult-took-our-sister-from-us-says-family-34241672.html">in the news</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p>The family of a Wexford pensioner, whose body lay undiscovered in her home for two months, believe the public should be vigilant to "the dangers of alternative faith-based groups, <a href="http://www.cultfaq.org">sects and cults</a>".[...]</p>
<p>A member of a group known as the 'Palmarian Catholic Church' - a highly secretive Spanish sect that broke away from the Catholic Church and has declared a series of its own 'Popes' - Bridget effectively was forced to cut herself off from her family when she became involved with the sect in the late 1970s, around the same time she returned to Ireland to look aft er her parents.[...]</p>
<p>Michael Garde, Director of <a href="https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/">Dialogue Ireland</a>, an independent trust that works to promote awareness and understanding of new 'religious' movements and cultism in Ireland, told the Irish Independent: "We are regularly contacted by families who have seen a loved one lost to the Palmarian church. We are deeply concerned by the group and how it destroys families and isolates people, especially the elderly. There are also reports that the Palmarians are targeting younger people and students."</p>
<p>Mr Garde said there have been many examples of Irish people adjoined to the Palmarians selling their homes, or leaving their property to the group in their wills, with proceeds going to the 'church' which has its headquarters in the remote Spanish town of Palmar de Troya, where it has a lavish basilica behind high walls.<br />
"Groups like the Palmarians have undue influence on people, they remove the rational capacity for people to deal with things. In Ireland, these groups have left behind a trail of hundreds of people no longer connected to society."
</p></blockquote>
<p>This website provides information and support to those affected by <a href="http://homepage.eircom.net/~palmardetroya/index.htm">Palmar de Troya / Palmarian Church</a> cult.</p>
<p>Earlier this month the New Zealand Herald published an <a href="https://dialogueireland.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/marias-article-in-the-herald.pdf">article about Maria Hall</a>, who was a nun in the Palmarian Catholic Church.</p>
<blockquote><p> Established in the 1970s, after four young girls claimed to have seen a holy apparition on farmland near the village of Palmar de Troya, the Palmarian church has distanced itself from Rome; it’s created its own rites, liturgies and its own bible.</p>
<div style="float:right;padding:10px 5px 10px 10px;"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0157GSUPS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0157GSUPS&linkCode=as2&tag=religionnewsblog-20&linkId=ML377ISIRSGQMYAW"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0157GSUPS&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=religionnewsblog-20" ></a><img src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=religionnewsblog-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0157GSUPS" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />
</div>
<p>Ms Hall’s life within it was dominated by religious rituals, sleepless nights, punitive regimes and temperamental superiors. The daily routine was controlled by tolling bells, endlessly gruelling domestic tasks all done in the compulsory silence enforced outside of prayer or song. She slept in a tiny room, with a threadbare blanket on a wooden bed, wore ill-fitting hand-me down clothes and shoes and was cut off from friends, family and the rest of the outside world, with no television, radio, newspaper or telephone.</p>
<p>When her father and sister did one day make the trip across the world to visit her, she was only allowed to see them only twice in her ten minute breaks. “Many years later she [my sister] told me that she felt like I had died.” Eventually this thankless commitment eroded what was left of her once unfaltering faith. She left and was cast out of the convent with nothing but a plane ticket home, some money and a shoulder bag containing her bible, writing pad and passport.</p>
<p>At home, in New Zealand, Ms Hall had to “relearn” what it meant to be human.</p></blockquote>
<p>Maria Hall has recently written <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0157GSUPS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0157GSUPS&linkCode=as2&tag=religionnewsblog-20&linkId=ML377ISIRSGQMYAW">REPARATION: A Spiritual Journey</a><img src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=religionnewsblog-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0157GSUPS" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />, described as the true story of one woman’s journey from the sweeping coastlines of New Zealand to the barren plains of Southern Spain, from youthful hope to deep despair, and from sin to reparation. </p>
<p>If you want to dig deeper, check this <a href="http://www.wrs.vcu.edu/ARTICLES/PALMARIAN%20CATHOLIC%20CHURCH/Palmarian%20Catholic%20Church..pdf">research paper</a> by Dr Magnus Lundberg of Uppsala University, Sweden.</p>
<p>Dialogue Ireland has <a href="https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/category/christian/palmarian-church/">additional information</a> as well.</p>
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<h2 id="radicalised"><i class="fa fa-check fa-lg" style="color:#009919;"></i> The story of a radicalisation: 'I was not thinking my thoughts. I was not myself'</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/radicalisation.jpg"><img src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/radicalisation.jpg" alt="how easily people are radicalised" width="800" height="449" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-36445" /></a></p>
<p>If you think you would not ever find yourself in a cult, consider these words:</p>
<blockquote><p><strong><a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/6188-nobody-joins-a-cult">Nobody joins a cult</a>.</strong></p>
<p>You join a self-help group, a religious movement, a political organization.</p>
<p>They change so gradually, by the time you realize you’re entrapped – and almost everybody does – you can’t figure a safe way back out.<br />
<cite>- Deborah Layton, survivor of Jim Jones’ Peoples Temple cult</cite></p></blockquote>
<p>This story in The Guardian in a case in point. Maysa, a teenager from Brussels, was a music fan and a ‘ray of sunshine’ at school. But an encounter on social media had changed her within a year. </p>
<blockquote><p>“I was so nearly there, just hours from leaving. I was there in my head: in Syria, with Islamic State,” the 18-year-old says. [...]
</p></blockquote>
<p>Her parents are Muslims, but not rigorous. Maysa first donned a jilbab -- a long and loose-fit coat or garment worn by some Muslim women who observe the <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/505-muslim-veils-hijab-burqa">Islamic dress code</a> -- after she had put on some weight.</p>
<p>After she posted a selfie wearing her new clothes on social media, she was contacted by another woman also in her late teens. They went shopping together, and some time later Maysa was introduced to a group of young women from a similar background to her own.</p>
<blockquote><p>First the conversation was about Islam, and the failures of many so-called Muslims. Then about politics, and the worldwide persecution of Muslims. Then finally about Isis, and life in the new “caliphate”, and how good life was there. [...]</p>
<p>“They told me how there was no crime and no discrimination in the Islamic State. They spoke about relations between men and women, and said that I would find a good husband, even if I would be one of several of his wives. They spoke about fighting the unbelievers and the heretics, but never mentioned any violence or executions or anything like that,” Maysa says.</p>
<p>Within weeks, her new friends provided Maysa with a cheap mobile phone with a pre-paid sim card and told her to keep it secret. It was on this phone that she was contacted, usually by text message, and told where and when the next meeting of the group would take place. </p></blockquote>
<p>When the group told Maysa it was time to travel to Syria (they would help her, regardless of whether or not she had a passport), something held her back. "And then came the threats: if she did not travel with them, Maysa would be tracked down, her family and friends too, and the consequences would be terrible." </p>
<p>Read the article, which also addresses the reason why parents and other family members usually don't notice anything is wrong until much later.</p>
<p><i class="fa fa-hand-o-right" style="color:#3f66b2;"></i> <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/5934-brainwashing-and-mind-control-in-religious-cults-and-elsewhere">Learn more about brainwashing</a></p>
<div class="linefade"></div>
<h2 id="isstrategy"><i class="fa fa-check fa-lg" style="color:#009919;"></i> What the Paris Attacks Tell Us about IS Strategy</h2>
<p>The new jihadists have our cities in their sights, German news weekly <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/paris-attacker-abaaoud-offers-insights-into-is-strategy-a-1064902.html"><em>Der Spiegel</em> says</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p>The attacks on <em>Charlie Hebdo</em> in Paris and Copenhagen at the beginning of 2015 weren't isolated cases, Peter Neumann, a professor of security studies at King's College London, warned in his new book "The New Jihadists," published in September in German. He believes what we have just witnessed are the "first, very dramatic warnings of what will play out on the streets of Europe in the next decades." Europe, he cautions, is standing "at the precipice of a new wave of terror that will still occupy us for a generation to come."</p></blockquote>
<p><i class="fa fa-hand-o-right" style="color:#3f66b2;"></i> How much do you know <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/6549-jihad-holy-war">about Jihad</a>?</p>
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<h2 id="thetans"><i class="fa fa-check fa-lg" style="color:#009919;"></i> How do Operating Thetans contact each other?</h2>
<p>British film maker <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Theroux">Louis Theroux</a> -- whose latest film is a feature length documentary entitled <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Scientology_Movie">My Scientology Movie</a></em> -- used Twitter to contact <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sweeney_(journalist)">John Sweeney</a>, the BBC journalist and author know for, among other things, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_and_Me"><em>Scientology and Me</em></a> documentary.</p>
<p>Note Sweeney's tongue-in-cheek reply:</p>
<div align="center">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/louistheroux">@louistheroux</a> As we&#39;re both Operating Thetans, you can just walk through my living room wall, surely?</p>
<p>&mdash; john sweeney (@johnsweeneyroar) <a href="https://twitter.com/johnsweeneyroar/status/670602543253364736">November 28, 2015</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<p>Not sure what an Operating Thetan is? Operation Clambake <a href="http://www.xenu.net/archive/ot/">explains what Scientology is trying to sell</a>. It should be clear that there are no Operating Thetans.</p>
<p><i class="fa fa-hand-o-right" style="color:#3f66b2;"></i> <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/585-scientology">Consumer Alert: Scientology</a></p>
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<h2 id="crossfit"><i class="fa fa-check fa-lg" style="color:#009919;"></i> Is Crossfit a religion?</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/iscrossfitchurch.jpg"><img src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/iscrossfitchurch.jpg" alt="Crossfit Church" width="800" height="532" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-36448" /></a></p>
<blockquote><p>A for-profit gym franchise founded in 2000 that now has 13,000 licensed operators serving at least two million exercisers, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CrossFit">CrossFit</a> — like television, sports fandom and health fads — has become the focus of study by researchers trying to pinpoint what constitutes religiosity in America. [...]</p>
<p>In an increasingly secular America, all sorts of activities and subcultures provide the meaning that in the past, at least as we imagine it, religious communities did.
</p></blockquote>
<p>"Skeptics might scoff that Crossfit is just a gym," <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/28/us/some-turn-to-church-others-to-crossfit.html?ref=us&_r=0">Mark Oppenheimer writes</a>, but "[i]t is a culture that can produce effects more often associated with church."</p>
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<h2 id="rnb"><i class="fa fa-check fa-lg" style="color:#009919;"></i> Join Religion News Blog on Twitter</h2>
<p>We encourage you to join 18,200+ others in following <a href="https://twitter.com/religionnews">Religion News Blog's Twitter Stream</a>. On <em>this</em> website, though, we go beyond Twitters 140-characters limit.</p>
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<p>This information was curated by <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/2573-janet-and-anton-hein">Anton Hein</a>, the founder of Religion News Blog.</p>
<p>Full story: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36444/how-people-get-radicalized">Nobody joins a cult, but it is easy to get radicalized</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~4/4HIfeMPcS7A" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>36444http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36444/how-people-get-radicalizedAre you old enough to remember Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~3/LYo_kUmZCyE/remember-bhagwan-shree-rajneesh
Sat, 18 Jul 2015 12:11:22 +0000http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=36349<img width="150" height="150" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/bhagwanshreerajneesh201507-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;" srcset="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/bhagwanshreerajneesh201507-150x150.jpg 150w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/bhagwanshreerajneesh201507-144x144.jpg 144w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/bhagwanshreerajneesh201507.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /><p><img width="137" height="137" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/bhagwanshreerajneesh201507.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/bhagwanshreerajneesh201507.jpg 250w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/bhagwanshreerajneesh201507-150x150.jpg 150w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/bhagwanshreerajneesh201507-144x144.jpg 144w" sizes="(max-width: 137px) 100vw, 137px" /></p>
<p><strong>Are you old enough to remember the <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/b40.html">Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh</a>?</strong> </p>
<p>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ADiK74fve8<br />
<span style="color: teal;font-size:small;">Oregon Public Broadcasting, Nov. 21, 2012</span> </p>
<p>In 1981 this spiritual leader from India spent $5.75 million on a remote piece of property in Oregon and invested millions more to build Rajneeshpuram as a spiritual retreat for thousands of his red-frocked followers.[ref]They used to be known as<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajneesh_movement"> Rajneeshees</a> or "Orange People," because of the orange and later red, maroon and pink clothes they used from 1970 until 1985[/ref]</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.eastoregonian.com/eo/local-news/20150718/once-a-cult-compound-now-worlds-biggest-young-life-camp"><em>East Oregonian</em> recalls</a></p>
<blockquote class="newsblock"><p>In news clips from the 1980s, Rajneeshees line the road for the Bhagwan’s daily drive-by in a vehicle from his fleet of more than 90 Rolls Royce automobiles. Rancho Rajneesh, as some called it, had its own newspaper, fire department, night club and mall.</p>
<p>The Rajneeshees clashed with locals over land use. The utopian desert commune collapsed after Rajneeshees were convicted of infecting four salad bars with salmonella in The Dalles, the Wasco county seat, in order to hamper voter turnout and swing an election. Other crimes included attempted murder, arson, election fraud and wiretapping. About 10 followers were imprisoned. The Bhagwan was deported for immigration violations.</p></blockquote>
<p>751 people were poisoned in the 1984 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_Rajneeshee_bioterror_attack">bioterror attack</a>. According to Wikipedia, "The incident was the first and single largest bioterrorist attack in United States history. The attack is one of only two confirmed terrorist uses of biological weapons to harm humans since 1945."</p>
<p>The Rajneesh had hoped to incapacitate the voting population of the city so that their own candidates would win the local election.</p>
<p>The Rajneesh actually did gain political control of the nearby city of Antelope. </p>
<p>But by 1986 they were all gone. </p>
<p>Oregon Public Broadcasting, which produced the fascinating documentary shown above, <a href="http://www.opb.org/television/programs/oregonexperience/segment/rajneeshpuram/">says</a> </p>
<blockquote class="newsblock"><p>Twenty-five sannyasins would be convicted of crimes: arson, wiretapping, immigration fraud, election fraud and attempted murder. Ten would serve time in prison.</p>
<p>At the end of it all, Wasco County Judge Bill Hulse predicted (correctly) that somebody would write a book about what had happened there: “The people who read that book,” he said, “will think it’s fiction.”</p></blockquote>
<p>The <em>East Oregonian</em> reports that</p>
<blockquote class="newsblock"><p>Montana billionaire Dennis Washington bought the seized property for a cool $3.65 million as a destination resort, but ran into zoning problems. The Washington family donated the property to Young Life in 1996 and has continued support with additional donations.</p></blockquote>
<p>Given Bhagwan's open disdain for Christianity, it ironic that his former land now is home to the <a href="https://washingtonfamilyranch.younglife.org/Pages/default.aspx">world's largest Young Life camp</a> -- a Christian camp.</p>
<p>Speaking of irony, the paper also writes</p>
<blockquote class="newsblock"><p>When planners couldn’t decide what to do with the Bhagwan’s house, a 1997 range fire decided matters. A finger of the fire raced down the ridge and torched the residence, the only one of 300 Rajneeshpuram buildings to burn.</p></blockquote>
<p>[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGH5q_QLwbY]</p>
<p>Born in 1931 as Chandra Mohan Jain, also known as Acharya Rajneesh, in the 1960s he changed his name to Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and in 1989 to Osho. Though he died in 1990, he still has an international following.[ref]<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajneesh">Wikipedia entry on Rajneesh</a>[/ref]</p>
<p>Want to know more? <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/rajneesh/">Rajneeshes in Oregon: The Untold Story</a>, a special report by The Oregonian, is a great place to start. Includes FBI and police reports.</p>
<p>See also:</p>
<p>&#8226; <a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/10284/seeing-a-cult-through-a-childs-eyes">Seeing a cult through a child's eyes</a><br />
&#8226; <a href="https://freedomofmind.com//Info/infoDet.php?id=441">Rajneesh Foundation - The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power</a></p>
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<p>Full story: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36349/remember-bhagwan-shree-rajneesh">Are you old enough to remember Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh?</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~4/LYo_kUmZCyE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>36349http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36349/remember-bhagwan-shree-rajneeshEscaping Polygamy — and Scientologyhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~3/cZ73zEOVTXM/escape-polygamy-scientology
Thu, 16 Jul 2015 19:00:05 +0000http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=36346<img width="150" height="150" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015-07-16_20-49-03-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;" srcset="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015-07-16_20-49-03-150x150.jpg 150w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015-07-16_20-49-03-144x144.jpg 144w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015-07-16_20-49-03.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /><p><img width="137" height="137" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015-07-16_20-49-03.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015-07-16_20-49-03.jpg 250w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015-07-16_20-49-03-150x150.jpg 150w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015-07-16_20-49-03-144x144.jpg 144w" sizes="(max-width: 137px) 100vw, 137px" /></p>
<p><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4257858/"><strong>Going Clear</strong></a>, Alex Gibney's smash documentary that <strong>exposes the Scientology cult to daylight</strong>, was HBO's highest-rated documentary premiere in almost a decade. By popular demand it is going to be <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/7/15/8974667/hbo-going-clear-limited-theatrical-release"><strong>back in theaters</strong></a>.</p>
<p>[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXCXKcRDCN0]</p>
<p>By the way: the documentary has <strong><a href="http://realscreen.com/2015/07/16/going-clear-dancing-with-the-stars-nab-multiple-emmy-noms/">seven Emmy nominations</a></strong>.</p>
<div style="margin:20px 0px 20px 0px;border-bottom:1px dotted #333;"></div>
<p><strong>“I want to leave and I want to leave now, but I’m scared and don’t know who I can trust.” </strong></p>
<p>That anonymous text message opens LMN’s documentary series <a href="http://www.mylifetime.com/movies/escaping-polygamy"><strong>Escaping Polygamy</strong></a>.</p>
<p>[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pnfP7tW494]</p>
<p><strong>"This show is <strong>not like 'Sister Wives'</strong>"</strong> Fox News headlined. It sure isn't. Rather than sugarcoat <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/82-polygamy">polygamy</a>, this series highlights what it is like to be <a href="http://www.tvruckus.com/2015/07/15/escaping-polygamy-why-arent-authorities-addressing-allegations-made-in-this-lmn-series/"><strong>trapped</strong> in an insular polygamous group</a>. </p>
<p>The series follows the work of three sisters who left the <a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/tag/kingston-clan">Kingston clan</a>, a secretive polygamist group based in Salt Lake City, Utah known as the Order, as they <strong>help both loved ones and strangers break free of polygamy</strong>.</p>
<p><span class="arrow"> <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/116-which-groups-practice-polygamy">Which Groups Practice Polygamy?</a></span><br />
<span class="arrow"> <a href="http://listverse.com/2014/04/19/10-polygamist-wives-who-escaped-unbelievable-abuse/">10 Polygamist Wives Who Escaped Unbelievable Abuse</a></span></p>
<div style="margin:20px 0px 20px 0px;border-bottom:1px dotted #333;"></div>
<p><a href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/13/can-moral-disputes-be-resolved/?smid=tw-nytopinion&_r=0">Can <strong>Moral Disputes</strong> Be Resolved?</a></p>
<div style="margin:20px 0px 20px 0px;border-bottom:1px dotted #333;"></div>
<p>From the <strong>head-in-the-sand department</strong>: <a href="http://victorhanson.com/wordpress/?p=8530">Obama's looking-glass Islamic World</a>.</p>
<p>Reality check: <a href="http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/"><strong>The Religion of Peace</strong></a></p>
<div style="margin:20px 0px 20px 0px;border-bottom:1px dotted #333;"></div>
<p>Full story: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36346/escape-polygamy-scientology">Escaping Polygamy &#8212; and Scientology</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~4/cZ73zEOVTXM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>36346http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36346/escape-polygamy-scientologyReligion News, Wednesday July 15, 2015http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~3/onoTiRgwu0M/religion-news-wednesday-july-15-2015
Wed, 15 Jul 2015 09:54:23 +0000http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=36342<img width="150" height="150" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/papersnews-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;" srcset="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/papersnews-150x150.jpg 150w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/papersnews.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /><p><img width="137" height="137" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/papersnews.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/papersnews.jpg 250w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/papersnews-150x150.jpg 150w" sizes="(max-width: 137px) 100vw, 137px" /></p>
<p><strong>Scientology quacks</strong> at work:</p>
<blockquote class="newsblock"><p>After a <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/585-scientology">Church of Scientology</a>-backed group helped organize a campaign against it, Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed legislation that would have given Texas doctors more power to detain mentally ill and potentially dangerous patients, according to <a href="http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/14/scientology-group-urged-veto-mental-health-bill/">records obtained by The Texas Tribune</a>.</p></blockquote>
<p>The group in question is the <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c119.html"><strong>Citizens Commission on Human Rights</strong></a> (CCHR) -- a Scientology <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/s04n.html">front group</a> that fights against alleged abuses in psychiatry and psychology. (Yes, it's an odd name. <strong>Scientology and human rights do not normally go hand in hand</strong>).</p>
<p>After all, <a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/11524/whats-scientologys-beef-with-psychiatry"><strong>Scientology hates psychiatry</strong> with a passion</a>.</p>
<p>The cult's primary goal is to "clear the planet" by "<strong>obliterating psychiatry</strong>." </p>
<p>To normal people the organization is known as the <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/662-scientology-disconnection"><strong>destructive</strong></a> <a href="http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/OTIII/"><strong>space-alien cult</strong></a> that teaches, promotes, and engages in <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/2758-narconon"><strong>quackery</strong></a>:</p>
<p>&#149; <a href="http://www.spaink.net/cos/essays/jacobsen_claims.html">Medical claims within Scientology's secret teachings</a><br />
&#149; <a href="http://www.xenu.net/archive/books/tsos/sos-16.html">Scientology versus medicine</a><br />
&#149; <a href="http://www.xenu.net/archive/disk/NOTs/medical/healing.htm">The healing claims of Scientology</a></p>
<p>Here's a site you'll want to bookmark and use: <a href="http://tonyortega.org/"><strong>What is Scientology?</strong></a></p>
<p>In our view, CCHR is morally reprehensible -- a dangerous hate group.</p>
<p>[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SAFFM1sFZA]</p>
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<p><strong>So here's the moment more than 30 people, mostly women and children, made their way to freedom after escaping the IS barbarians who kidnapped them.</strong></p>
<p>[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSDPCKY08AI]</p>
<p>This footage -- filmed in Northern Iraq -- is part of <em>Escape From ISIS</em>, to be broadcast by the UK's <a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/videos/all/trailer-escape-from-isis">Channel 4</a>, tonight at 10pm UK time.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/watch-the-moment-34-women-and-children-managed-to-escape-from-isis-10387692.html">The Independent</a> says</p>
<blockquote class="newsblock"><p>In August 2014 the area was attacked by Isis, with the militants <strong>killing hundreds and capturing 3,000 Yazidi women and young girls</strong>.</p>
<p>Isis locked up their captors and forced many to convert to Islam; the kidnapping has been described as the largest of its kind this century.</p></blockquote>
<p>We steadfastly <strong>refer to IS/Isis/Daesh members as barbarians</strong>. These depraved savages -- who <em>pretend</em> to be Muslims -- have no qualms committing the most horrendous crimes.</p>
<p>Last April <a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/04/14/iraq-isis-escapees-describe-systematic-rape">Human Rights Watch released a report</a> that documents how Isis has carried out <strong>systematic rape and other sexual violence</strong> against Yezidi women and girls.</p>
<blockquote class="newsblock"><p>Human Rights Watch documented a system of organized rape and sexual assault, sexual slavery, and <strong>forced marriage</strong> by ISIS forces. [...]</p>
<p>“ISIS forces have committed organized rape, sexual assault, and other horrific crimes against Yezidi women and girls,” said Liesl Gerntholtz, women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch. “Those <a href="http://features.hrw.org/features/Interview_These_Yezidi_Girls_Escaped_ISIS/index.html?_ga=1.153355512.1905942540.1436950676">fortunate enough to have escaped</a> need to be treated for the unimaginable trauma they endured.”</p></blockquote>
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<p>Incidentally, while <strong>climate change</strong> is seen as the 'top global threat,' the <a href="http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/07/14/climate-change-seen-as-top-global-threat/"><em>Pew Research Center</em> says</a> Americans, Europeans, Middle Easterners <a href="http://www.pewglobal.org/2015/07/14/climate-change-seen-as-top-global-threat/">Focus on <strong>ISIS as Greatest Danger</strong></a> </p>
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<p>Wheaton chaplaincy staffer <a href="https://julierodgers.wordpress.com/2015/07/13/an-update-on-the-gay-debate-evolving-ideas-untidy-stories-and-hopes-for-the-church/"><strong>Julie Rodgers</strong></a> [<a href="https://julierodgers.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/surprised-by-celibacy/">attracted to women, celibate</a>] <strong>backs same-sex relationships, quits the evangelical college</strong>, <a href="http://elielcruz.religionnews.com/2015/07/14/wheaton-chaplain-supports-same-sex-relationships-quits-evangelical-college"><em>Religion News Service</em> reports</a>.<br />
<a href="https://about.me/julie_rodgers"><img src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/julierodgers.jpg" alt="Julie Rodgers" width="250" height="327" class="alignright size-full wp-image-36343" /></a></p>
<blockquote class="newsblock"><p>The news of Rodgers blessing <strong>committed, same-sex relationships</strong> has upset many evangelicals who have presented her as a model gay Christian. [...]</p>
<p>The most critical portion of Rodgers statement wasn’t her affirmation of same-sex relationships but her <strong>condemnation of how the church treats celibacy</strong>.</p>
<p>“I’ve become increasingly troubled by the unintended consequences of messages that insist all LGBT people commit to lifelong celibacy,” Rodgers wrote.</p>
<p>“No matter how graciously it’s framed, that <strong>message tends to contribute to feelings of shame and alienation for gay Christians</strong>. It leaves folks feeling like love and acceptance are contingent upon them not-gay-marrying and not-falling-in-gay-love…. It’s hard to believe we’re actually wanted in our churches. It’s hard to believe the God who loves us actually likes us.”</p></blockquote>
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<p>Are you a <strong>Christian sharing fake news</strong>? <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2015/july/embarrassing-week-for-christians-sharing-fake-news.html">Cut it out!</a></p>
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<p>Twelve years in, <strong>US bishops’ sexual abuse charter</strong> is <a href="http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/07/13/twelve-years-in-us-bishops-sexual-abuse-charter-is-facing-challenges/">facing challenges</a>.</p>
<p>US Catholics at every level need to guard against “a <strong>tendency for complacency</strong>” toward the sexual abuse crisis says Deacon Bernie Nojadera, executive director of the Secretariat for Child and Youth Protection at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops:</p>
<blockquote class="newsblock"><p>“We have <strong>established procedures and policies</strong>, and we think that we have that in place,” he told Catholic News Service. “There might not be that ongoing mindfulness and certain small things might start to slide. They are not really paid attention to the way they should.”</p></blockquote>
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<p>Full story: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36342/religion-news-wednesday-july-15-2015">Religion News, Wednesday July 15, 2015</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~4/onoTiRgwu0M" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>36342http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36342/religion-news-wednesday-july-15-2015Brazilian Evangelicals set up a ‘sin free’ alternative to Facebookhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~3/LX9TtkE_VUg/brazilian-evangelicals-set-up-a-sin-free-version-of-facebook
Mon, 06 Jul 2015 11:32:43 +0000http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=36334<img width="150" height="150" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/facegloria-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;" srcset="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/facegloria-150x150.jpg 150w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/facegloria-144x144.jpg 144w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/facegloria.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /><p><img width="137" height="137" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/facegloria.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/facegloria.jpg 250w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/facegloria-150x150.jpg 150w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/facegloria-144x144.jpg 144w" sizes="(max-width: 137px) 100vw, 137px" /></p>
<p><strong>A group of Evangelical Christians in Brazil have set up <a href="http://facegloria.com/"><strong>Facegloria</strong></a> -- a <strong>sin-free version of Facebook</strong>, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/brazil/11718235/Brazilian-Evangelicals-set-up-a-sin-free-version-of-Facebook.html"><em>the Telegraph</em> reports</a>.</strong></p>
<p>The service is patrolled by volunteers who prevent the posting of all-too-revealing selfies, 600 banned words, and anything related to homosexuality or, for that matter, the whole <a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/tag/lgbt">LGBT</a> alphabet of lifestyles.</p>
<p>The paper notes that <strong>42 million of Brazil's 202 million people are estimated to be Evangelicals</strong> – and that the "fervent Protestant movement <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/brazil/10206149/Pope-shows-rock-star-appeal-with-million-man-audience-on-Copacabana-beach.html">continues to make inroads</a> into traditionally dominant Catholicism."<br />
<a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/facegloryscreenshott.jpg"><img src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/facegloryscreenshott.jpg" alt="Facegloria" width="350" height="340" class="alignright size-full wp-image-36336" /></a></p>
<blockquote class="newsblock"><p>Brazil has the world's biggest Roman Catholic population. </p>
<p>However Evangelicals, who numbered just six per cent of the population in 1980, are now 22 per cent, while the Catholic total has dropped from 90 per cent to 63 per cent.<br />
At that rate, <strong>Evangelicals will become the majority by 2040</strong> and Facegloria hopes to be riding the wave.</p></blockquote>
<p>But the term 'Evangelical' is rather flexible and not clearly-defined. For instance, <em>the Telegraph</em> says that </p>
<blockquote class="newsblock"><p>the biggest-selling books in Brazil over the last two years have been autobiographical works by <strong>Edir Macedo</strong>, who founded the powerful <strong>Universal Church of the Kingdom of God</strong> in 1977, and owns the country's third-biggest media group.</p></blockquote>
<p>Macedo and his church are controversial, to say the least. Both have a seemingly <a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/category/uckg"><strong>insatiable appetite for money</strong></a>.</p>
<p>Many Christians consider the <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/i04.html">Universal Church of the Kingdom of God</a> (<em>Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus</em>) to be <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/2765-cult-of-christianity"><strong>theologically a cult of Christianity</strong></a>. </p>
<p>It promotes the teachings of the <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/4914-word-faith-movement">Word-Faith Movement</a>, with a particular emphasis on the <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/227-seed-faith">seed-faith doctrine</a>. </p>
<p>According to this teaching <strong>God cannot bless you (with health and wealth) <em>unless</em></strong> you 'sow' a seed of faith (yes, money -- 'donated' to the church).</p>
<p>Perhaps Brazilia's evangelicals have yet to find the story about <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+21:12-13">Jesus and the money-changers</a>.</p>
<p>Anyway, Facegloria has attracted 100,000 users in its first month, and the folks behind it expect to have 10 million users in Brazil in 2 years time. After that, the world. </p>
<p>Acir dos Santos, the mayor of Ferraz de Vasconcelos -- and the person who provided the start-up capital -- says there's no limit.</p>
<blockquote class="newsblock"><p>"Our network is global. <strong>We have bought the Faceglory domain in English and in all possible languages</strong>. We want to take on Facebook and Twitter here and everywhere," he said.</p></blockquote>
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<p>Full story: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36334/brazilian-evangelicals-set-up-a-sin-free-version-of-facebook">Brazilian Evangelicals set up a &#8216;sin free&#8217; alternative to Facebook</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~4/LX9TtkE_VUg" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>36334http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36334/brazilian-evangelicals-set-up-a-sin-free-version-of-facebookInternational Cultic Studies Association: Upcoming Eventshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~3/6d2qRUA39XU/international-cultic-studies-association-upcoming-events
Mon, 06 Jul 2015 06:07:14 +0000http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=36330<img width="150" height="150" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/icsa_cultic_studies1-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;" srcset="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/icsa_cultic_studies1-150x150.jpg 150w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/icsa_cultic_studies1-144x144.jpg 144w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/icsa_cultic_studies1.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /><p><img width="137" height="137" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/icsa_cultic_studies1.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/icsa_cultic_studies1.jpg 250w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/icsa_cultic_studies1-150x150.jpg 150w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/icsa_cultic_studies1-144x144.jpg 144w" sizes="(max-width: 137px) 100vw, 137px" /></p>
<p><strong>Founded in 1979, the <a href="http://www.icsahome.com/aboutus">International Cultic Studies Association</a> (ICSA) is a global network of people concerned about psychological manipulation and abuse in cultic or high-demand groups, alternative movements, and other environments. ICSA is tax-exempt, supports civil liberties, and is not affiliated with any religious or commercial organizations.</strong></p>
<p>ICSA is <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/135-icsa-cult-experts">unique in how it brings together</a> former group members, families, helping professionals and researchers.</p>
<p>We highly recommend ICSA. See our sister site, <a href="http://www.cultexperts.org/">CultExperts.org</a>, for details.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.icsahome.com/home"><img src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/icsasite.jpg" alt="International Cultic Studies Association" width="700" height="405" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-36332" /></a></p>
<h2 id="events">Upcoming Events</h2>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.icsahome.com/events/workshoprecovery">Recovery Workshop for Former Group Members</a> (July 31 - August 2, 2015) - Colorado Springs, Colorado</strong></p>
<p>Organized by <a href="http://www.carolgiambalvo.com/">Carol Giambalvo</a>, a <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/68-thought-reform-consultants">thought reform consultant</a>, these workshops are for former group members only, not family or friends (ICSA has other events for these persons. ICSA also has a special workshop for former group members who were born or raised in high-demand groups.)<br />
&#8594; <a href="http://www.icsahome.com/articles/the-colorado-model--giambalvohenry-it-1-1">ICSA Recovery Workshops: The Colorado Model</a></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.icsahome.com/events/conferencesantafe">High-Control Groups: Helping Former Members and Families</a> (November 6-8, 2015) - Santa Fe, New Mexico</strong></p>
<p>This conference will focus on the needs of former group members and families and will include a training track for mental health professionals. </p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.icsahome.com/events/workshopsgas">Surviving and Moving On After a High-Demand Group Experience: A Workshop for Second-Generation Former Members</a> (April 15-17, 2016) - Chester, CT</strong></p>
<p>As increasing numbers of people born or raised in cultic movements have reached adulthood, the International Cultic Studies Association has developed a program that addresses their special needs. Two articles describe this program: (1) <a href="http://www.icsahome.com/articles/lessons-learned-from-sgas-about-recovery-and-resiliency-furnarihenry-it-2-3">Lessons Learned from SGAs About Resiliency and Recovery</a> (Leona Furnari and Rosanne Henry) and (2) <a href="http://www.icsahome.com/articles/my-perspective-of-rosanne-henry-and-leona-furnari-presentation-rardin-it-2-3">My Perspective of Rosanne Henry and Leona Furnari’s Presentation to the Annual SGA Workshop</a> (Patrick Rardin) describe this program. There is also a video on ICSA's YouTube channel: "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niDJQHfidjs">Born or Raised in Cultic Groups</a>" with Lorna Goldberg and Leona Furnari.</p>
<p>Meeting annually since 2006, this workshop addresses the needs of SGAs (Second Generation Adults) through presentations by specialists and former members, including discussions in which attendees may participate according to their comfort levels. Special attention is paid to the need of SGAs for privacy, reflection, and working at their own pace. </p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.icsahome.com/events/callforpapers">Call for Papers: ICSA Annual Conference (June 30 - July 2, 2016; preconference workshops on June 29th)</a> - Dallas Texas</strong></p>
<p>The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) is conducting its 2016 Annual International Conference jointly with <a href="http://infosect.freeshell.org/infocult/ic-home.html">Info-Secte/Info-Cult</a> of Montreal in Dallas, Texas. The conference will take place from June 30 through July 2, 2016 (preconference workshops on Wednesday June 29). The conference will address the needs and interests of ICSA’s four main constituencies: former group members, families, helping professionals, and researchers. </p>
<p>Full story: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36330/international-cultic-studies-association-upcoming-events">International Cultic Studies Association: Upcoming Events</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~4/6d2qRUA39XU" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>36330http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36330/international-cultic-studies-association-upcoming-eventsAnti-gay bakery owners must pay $135.000 to lesbian couplehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~3/43e_JJOdyz0/sweet-cakes-lesbian-wedding-cake
Mon, 06 Jul 2015 03:26:59 +0000http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=36327<img width="150" height="150" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sweetcakes2-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;" srcset="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sweetcakes2-150x150.jpg 150w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sweetcakes2-144x144.jpg 144w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sweetcakes2.jpg 228w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /><p><img width="137" height="137" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sweetcakes2.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sweetcakes2.jpg 228w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sweetcakes2-150x150.jpg 150w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sweetcakes2-144x144.jpg 144w" sizes="(max-width: 137px) 100vw, 137px" /></p>
<p><strong>The Christian owners of the Sweetcakes by Melissa bakery in Gresham, Oregon who denied service to a same-sex couple <a href="http://wane.com/2015/07/05/oregon-issues-final-order-in-gay-wedding-cake-case/">must pay $135,000 in damages</a>, the state's <a href="http://www.oregon.gov/boli/SiteAssets/pages/press/Sweet%20Cakes%20FO.pdf">Bureau of Labor and Industries has ruled</a>.</strong></p>
<p>The bakery refused to bake a wedding cake cake for lesbian couple Laurel and Rachel Bowman-Cryer in January 2013. </p>
<p>In April this year, a judge ruled that the bakery had discriminated against the couple and suggested damages of $135,000. Now, the Bureau of Labor and Industries has affirmed that amount, ordering Sweet Cakes to pay it.<br />
<img src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sweetcakes.jpg" alt="Sweet Cake by Melissa" width="350" height="228" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-36328" /><br />
Bakery owners Aaron and Melissa Klein said their refusal to bake for the lesbian couple was prompted by their religious beliefs regarding marriage. </p>
<p>The case has been cited in the national debate over <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/2821-religious-freedom-tolerance-and-intolerance">religious freedom</a> and discrimination against gays.</p>
<p>The couple intends to appeal the decision.</p>
<p>Last April crowdfunding site GoFundMe <a href="http://dailysignal.com/2015/04/25/after-receiving-over-100k-in-donations-bakers-crowdfunding-page-shut-down/">shut down the couple's campaign</a> because it involved formal charges.</p>
<p>The Kleins will still receive the $109,000 donated to the fund before it was shut down.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Samaritan’s Purse has <a href="http://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/persecution-against-u-s-christians-on-the-rise/">established a fund</a> to help people who face financial distress and are punished for their sincerely held religious beliefs, convictions, and conscience.</p>
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<p>Full story: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36327/sweet-cakes-lesbian-wedding-cake">Anti-gay bakery owners must pay $135.000 to lesbian couple</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~4/43e_JJOdyz0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>36327http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36327/sweet-cakes-lesbian-wedding-cakePolygamous FLDS cult erects wall around meetinghousehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~3/piAAFUbeAto/polygamous-flds-cult-erects-wall-around-meetinghouse
Fri, 03 Jul 2015 10:50:07 +0000http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=36324<img width="150" height="150" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/fldswall-150x150.jpg" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="two" style="float: left; margin-right: 5px;" srcset="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/fldswall-150x150.jpg 150w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/fldswall-144x144.jpg 144w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/fldswall.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /><p><img width="137" height="137" src="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/fldswall.jpg" class="attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="two" srcset="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/fldswall.jpg 250w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/fldswall-150x150.jpg 150w, http://www.religionnewsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/fldswall-144x144.jpg 144w" sizes="(max-width: 137px) 100vw, 137px" /></p>
<p><strong>The insular <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/728-fundamentalist-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints-flds">Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints</a> (FLDS) is <a href="http://www.sltrib.com/home/2690476-155/wall-being-erected-around-polygamous-sect">building a "fortress-type" wall</a> around its meeting house in Colorado City, Arizona.</strong></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-video" lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">UEP employee tells <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/2News?src=hash">#2News</a> this wall could be in response to 4th of July celebration planned Saturday. <a href="https://twitter.com/KUTV2News">@KUTV2News</a> <a href="http://t.co/3o3ifeT8BH">pic.twitter.com/3o3ifeT8BH</a></p>
<p>&mdash; D.J. Bolerjack (@DJBolerjack) <a href="https://twitter.com/DJBolerjack/status/616671903974076416">July 2, 2015</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Private investigator Sam Brower, who has observed the cult for many years, says he has no doubt that the wall is being erected on the express orders of <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/4568-warren-jeffs">FLDS leader Warren Jeffs</a>.</p>
<p>Jeffs, whom followers believe to be a prophet who speaks for God, is serving a <a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/26114/flds-cult-leader-warren-jeffs-jailed-for-life">sentence of life plus 20 years</a> in a Texas prison after he was <a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/26106/warren-jeffs-convicted">found guilty</a> of taking underage girls as his wives in what were claimed to be '<a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/2729-celestial-marriage">spiritual marriages</a>.'</p>
<p>While his brother, Lyle, and other leaders in the cult take care of day to day business, Warren Jeffs continues to <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/4568-warren-jeffs#ironfist">rule his followers with an iron fist</a>.</p>
<p>Theologically, the FLDS is considered to be a cult of the <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/m04.html">Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints</a> (LDS, commonly known as the Mormon Church) -- which itself is, also <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/2765-cult-of-christianity">theologically, a cult of Christianity</a>.</p>
<p>It is the best known among <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/123-polygamous-sects-of-the-mormon-church">many such groups</a>, most of which separated from the church <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/2730-polygamy-in-mormonism">over the issue of polygamy</a>.</p>
<p>Interestingly, for the most part, the doctrines and practices of <a href="http://www.apologeticsindex.org/344-mormon-fundamentalism">Mormon Fundamentalists</a> are closer to those of the original Mormon Church than are the doctrines and practices of today's Mormon Church. </p>
<p>Sociologically the FLDS is also consider a <a href="http://www.cultfaq.org">cult</a>. The movement has been <a href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/tag/fundamentalist-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints">in the news</a> for ousting young boys, for reassigning the wives and children of excommunicated men to men who are for the time being still in good standing, for forcing girls into underage marriages, for other forms of child abuse, and a range of other issues. </p>
<p>Full story: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36324/polygamous-flds-cult-erects-wall-around-meetinghouse">Polygamous FLDS cult erects wall around meetinghouse</a></p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ReligionNewsBlog/~4/piAAFUbeAto" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>36324http://www.religionnewsblog.com/36324/polygamous-flds-cult-erects-wall-around-meetinghouse